15 August 2011: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that Parties to the Tehran Convention on the environmental protection of the Caspian region have agreed to new protocols on: Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution Incidents; and environmental impact assessment. The agreements were the key outcomes of the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 3) to the Convention, which convened in Aktau, Kazakhstan, from 10-12 August 2011. According to UNEP, over the last 20 years, the Caspian Sea has become increasingly exposed to risks from oil and gas exploration, exploitation and transport. The five Parties to the Tehran Convention – Azerbaijan, Iran, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan – agreed on new commitments to strengthen regional responses to oil spills and to improve the way potential sources of pollution are monitored and managed across borders. Once ratified by Parties, the Protocol on Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution Incidents will introduce an emergency response system for oil pollution incidents.

UNEP also notes that the Parties reached “in principle” agreement on the text of a Protocol on environmental impact assessment in a trans-boundary context. Such a protocol is intended to provide common rules for countries to assess any planned activities that could cause significant adverse effects on the Caspian Sea’s marine environment. The protocol also would require countries to notify one another of such activities. [UNEP Press Release] [Tehran Convention Website]